Nail holder and set



M. MUN SON Dec. 6, 1955 5 M g G F c A 4 9 WMU w a WU IIT r, m Z

n R mm M mM m U M United States Patent NAIL HOLDER AND SET Mark Munson, San Francisco, Calif. Application November 15, 1954, Serial No. 468,829 1 Claim. (Cl. 1-47 This invention relates to improvements in a combined nail holder and nail set.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a device for holding a nail in driving position without placmg the hands upon the nail, and to then drive'the nail and set it, as would be done with an ordinary hammer and nail set.

A further object of this invention is to produce a device of this character which will retain nails of dilferent sizes within the limits of the device.

A further object is to produce a device of this character which is easy to operate, one where no new technique is necessary for its use, and one which protects the hands against being struck by the hammer.

A further object is to produce a device of this character which is economical to manufacture and readily transportable.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numbers are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of my device;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the springs;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the retaining ring; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the manner of using my device in toe-nailing a board.

In the driving of nails it has been customary to hold the nail between the first finger and the thumb of one hand and then to strike the head of the nail with a hammer until the nail is well into the wood into which it is being driven, and after the head has been driven close to the surface of the wood, it has generally been common practice to employ a nail set so as to sink the head below the surface of the wood.

In driving nails in this manner it frequently occurs that the hammer strikes the nail at an angle and causes the same to bend, or that the person misses the head of the nail and injures the fingers holding the nail.

Applicant has heretofore devised a holder which eliminates all of the above disadvantages by permitting the user to take hold of a holder in which the head of the nail has been placed and to then place the point of the nail against the work to be nailed and then by hitting a portion of the holder with a hammer, a blow will be transferred to the nail, sinking it into the wood to the surface thereof and to further sink the head below the surface without the danger of marring the wood surface, as is often done with an ordinary use of hammer and nail.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates the body of my device which has a tubular bore 6, which communicates with an enlarged bore 7, which bore is provided wit shoulders 8 and 9.

Radially arranged slots 11 serve to house spring units" 12, each spring unit having an outwardly turned end 13 which enters a radial bore 14.

The opposite end of the spring has an offset V-shaped portion 16, the purpose of which will be later seen.

Slidably mounted in the body is an anvil 17 which has a reduced end forming a driver 18 and a handle 19. A groove 21 is formed in the anvil and is adapted to receive a split expansion ring 22, the purpose of which will be later described.

The surface 23 of the anvil is adapted to engage the shoulder 8 of the body, while the expanded ring 22 is adapted to engage the shoulder 9.

Assuming that the parts are assembled as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and it is desired to drive a nail, the head A of the nail is inserted into the bore 6 where it will engage the V-shaped portions of the springs 12, camming past them and coming to rest against the end of the driver 18, where it will be held with the shank B of the nail protruding from the body.

The end of the nail is then placed against the material to be nailed, the operator holding the handle 19, and then by striking on the end D thereof with a hammer, a blow will be transmitted to the nail, thus driving it into the material.

As soon as the portion C of the body engages the material into which the nail is being driven, the body will come to rest and the anvil will then drive the nail and the head free of the V-shaped ends of the springs 12 and continue to sink the nail and the head thereof until the portion 23 of the anvil engages the shoulder 8 of the body, from which point on, no further pressure will be applied to the nail.

In driving a nail diagonally, such as shown in Fig. 6 in what is termed toe-nailing, the same procedure is effected until the nail reaches substantially the position shown in this figure. The nail is then withdrawn from the device and the edge of the body is used for sinking the nail flush 'with the surface.

It is of course obvious that the bottom of thetool may be serrated so that in toe-nailing there will be little opportunity for the body to slip on the head of the nail.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a device which will accomplish all of the objects above set forth. It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A combined nail holder and set comprising a body portion having axially aligned bores formed therethrough, one end of said body portion forming a work-engaging surface of considerable area, a movable anvil slidable in one of said bores and having a driving extension slidable in the other of said bores, and means for holding the head of a nail in the bore having the driving extension positioned therein, said means comprising a plurality of radially positioned springs extending into said bore, said anvil having a groove formed adjacent one end thereof, a split expansion ring positioned in said groove, said body portion includingmeans co-acting with said split expansion ring whereby when said anvil and ring are inserted in said body portion, said ring Wlll expand to contact said body portion and prevent withdrawal therefrom.

I References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

